LINGERING DOUBTS

LINGERING DOUBTS 1. When someone speaks under the banner of an “Islamic revolution,” it quickly becomes clear to him that just following the law isn’t enough to earn a reward for this effort. He says: God and His Messenger have prescribed the minimum rights of God upon you, but no limit has been set for the maximum. Therefore, you should participate with the spirit of always striving to do more. This is a great mission, for which you must go “beyond the bare requirements of duty.” You should “give preference to God’s work over your personal affairs” and “develop within yourself the spirit of financial and physical sacrifice.” He emphasizes that, to succeed in this work, you must abandon all pursuits and interests that take your time and attention away from this cause, and—aside from unavoidable economic needs—dedicate every moment of your time to it. Yet the very next day, when someone stresses the need for a simple life as part of self-reform, he dismisses the suggestion as a “demand for ostentatious poverty,” and says: “Let me assure you that neither the Companions nor the Prophet Muhammad œ ever tried to make their lives seem more ascetic than they were, nor did they intentionally lower their